Drawer-lock.



G. P. TILTON.

DRAWER LOGK.

LED NOV. 2, 1910.

Patented 001). 24, 1911.

y lfwn or Att 0 JJ 66 by GEORGE P. TILTON, 0F NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS.

DRAWER-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

Application filed November 2, 1910. Serial No. 590,377.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P TILToN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newburyport, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful DrawerLock, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to furniture, and more especially to that class of devices intended for the locking of drawers; and the object of the same is to protect the locking devices shown and described in connection with my sectional chest which forms the subject matter of a companion application filed June 11, 1910 and numbered 566,409.

The present invention covers the details of a locking device intended for use in connection with any kind of sliding drawers mounted within a casing whose top is hinged, whereby depression of the top actuates the locking device and engages it with the drawers; but I have herein described and shown such locking device as used in connection with the sectional chest which forms the subject matter of my companion application above referred to.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the chest with its parts slightly separated and its cover raised. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sectional fastening forming the locking device of the present application. Fig. 3 is a horizontal detail of the catch forming a part thereof. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the chest, with certain of the drawers locked in place and others about to be. Fig. 5 shows details of the guide for each link.

In the drawings I have shown a sectional chest or cabinet composed essentially of a base member B, a top member including a tray T and a cover G hinged thereon, and but one of several interchangeable drawer members each consisting of a frame F and a drawer D sliding therein, although it will be understood that these drawer members or sections may be added indefinitely by simply extending the length of the supports S and adding links L of the fastener which forms the gist of the present application. By preference the various members are of wood ornamentally finished on their exterior and suitably lined and possibly padded, as the especial purpose of the chest is to contain silverware and jewelry and perhaps glassware and other valuable but not cumbersome articles. I employ the well known principle of building this chest in units or sections so that when the user needs more room than afforded by the article illustrated in the drawings he can add a drawer section to increase its capacity, and I lay no claim to this principle further than as it applies to the present invention. Briefly described, all the sections are shown as rectangular so that they may be superimposed nicely one over the other, and when the units or sections are thus assembled they are held together by supports S which consist of upright bolts in the corners of the chest, their shanks 61 extending through the various units, their heads 64 standing within the tray T, and their ornamental nuts 63 standing beneath the base B and forming feet for the entire device. The cover is hinged to the tray as at 29, and has a keeper 71 engaging a lock 70 on the tray so that when closed the entire chest may be locked by the use of a key. The supports S thus pass through the frameF of each drawer section, while the drawer D can slide in the frame as usual; in fact, the description above is only given to show that additional drawer sections can be inserted by increasing the length of the bolt shanks 61, and the fastening device of the present application will then be increased by the insertion of additional links as described below.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, the numerals 81 designate links, each of a length equal to the thickness of one of the drawer sections and each having a dowuturned hook 82 with a chisel point to engage the rear edge 55 (or a keeper on the rear edge) of the drawer D when the latter is closed.

About opposite each hook the link has cars 83 at its sides adapted to engage the body of the link below, and the latter is provided in its upper end with a notch 84 which fits against the shank of the hook 82 when the two links are assembled. I prefer also that each link shall be provided at a suitable point, as near its lower end, with a groove 82 in its front face and at another point near its upper end with a rib 83 projecting from the rear face, and when the links are assembled upon each other the rib of one engages and snaps into the groove of the other. As best seen in Fig. 5, each link is also provided at about the center of its length with a stud 88 having a head 88 at its rear end, and the frame of each section of the chest has a recess covered by plate 89 which is provided with a key-hole be adopted for slidably and removably mounting the link within its section. The

uppermost link 85,moves vertically withinv the rear side bar of the tray T and is held normally elevated by a spring 86, and its upper end carries a pin 87 which the spring raises above the face of this side bar when the cover is elevated; hence when the cover is depressed its rear side bar depresses the pin 87, expands the spring 86, and pushes the links downward so that their hooks 82 engage over the rear bars 55 of the drawers and prevent the latter from being withdrawn.

In order that any drawer which should be open when the cover is closed, may be pushed into its frame end engaged with its proper hook 82, I preferably attach to the back 55 of the drawer a catch best seen in Fig. '3. This consists of a housing 90 having pins 91 on which are pivoted latches 92 borne inward toward each other by springs 98, and the working faces of these latches are notched as at 94 so that as the drawer is pressed home the hook 82 will pass between said faces, bear the latches outward against the tension of their springs, and permitthem to snap together and the notches to engage behind the hook as will be clear. The use of the chisel point on the hook 82 serves to prevent fracture of the catch in case the cover is closed when some drawer has not quite been pushed completely closed,

because in that event the point would pass down between and spread apart the two latches 92 as will be obvious.

I consider this form of locking device particularly useful in a sectional chest of the character described above, because it permits the indefinite addition of units carrying drawers without disconnecting or even temporarily removing the upper link 85 from the top section. In order to do this each unit or member which is provided will have its own link 81 mounted Within it, and when the supports S are removed and a new unit is to be inserted the lower end of its link will be engaged with the upper end of the link in the unit next beneath, and the upper end of its link will be engaged with the lower end of the upper link 85 in the unit above as the latter is put into place.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a drawer lock, the combination with a piece of furniture made in superimposed sections each having a frame and a drawer therein; of a series of links each mounted in the rear bar of the frame of one section and each having a hook adapted to engage its respective drawer when the series is depressed, each link having a notch in its upper end engaging beneath the shank of the hook in the link above, and each link also having side ears opposite its own hook engaging the upper end of the link below, and means for moving the series of links vertically.

v2. In a drawer lock, the combination with a piece of furniture made in superimposed separable sections, each including a frame and a drawer therein; of a series of links each movable vertically in the rear bar of one of said frames and each having means for detachably engaging its drawer when the latter is in place and the link is depressed, inter-engaging grooves and ribs adjacent the ends of the links, and side ears on each link adapted to engage the edges of the adjacent link when the groove of one receives the rib of the other.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE P. TILTON.

Witnesses:

GEORGE H. I'IATCI-I, ALBERT E. LUNT.

Gop'ies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

